South Korea's Pyeongchang awarded 2018 Winter Olympics

Associated PressSouth Korea;s Pyeongchang has awarded the site of the 2018 Winter Olympics.

DURBAN, South Africa
— The South Korean city of Pyeongchang has been awarded the 2018 Winter Olympics after failing in two previous attempts.

Pyeongchang defeated rivals Munich and Annecy, France, on
Wednesday in the first round of a secret ballot of the International
Olympic Committee.

The Koreans had lost narrowly in previous bids for the 2010 and 2014 Olympics.

Pyeongchang will be the first city in Asia outside Japan to host
the Winter Games. Japan held the games in Sapporo in 1972 and Nagano in
1998.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.

DURBAN, South Africa (AP) — The IOC selected a host city for the
2018 Winter Olympics in the first round of voting Wednesday, and the
winner will be announced at about 11 a.m. EDT.

International Olympic Committee President Jacques Rogge announced
the election was over after just one round of the secret ballot among
95 members.

The candidates were South Korean favorite Pyeongchang, Munich and Annecy, France.

It's the first time an Olympic bid race with more than two
finalists was decided in the first round since 1995, when Salt Lake City
defeated three others to win the 2002 Winter Games.

A majority is required for victory, meaning Wednesday's winning city received at least 48 votes.

Had no majority been reached in the opening round, the city with
the fewest votes would have been eliminated and the two remaining cities
gone to a second and final ballot.

There has been speculation of a possible first-round win for
Pyeongchang, which led in each of the first rounds in the votes for the
2010 and 2014 Games, but then lost in the final rounds to Vancouver and
Sochi.

Pyeongchang is seeking to bring the Winter Games to a new territory in Asia.

The Winter Games have been staged twice in Asia, both times in
Japan — Sapporo in 1972 and Nagano in 1998. Pyeongchang, whose slogan is
"New Horizons," says it can spread the Olympics to a lucrative new
market in Asia and become a hub for winter sports in the region.

Munich, which hosted the 1972 Olympic and is trying to become the
first city to stage both a Summer and Winter Games, contends it's time
to bring the event back to its roots in Europe. Germany hasn't hosted
the Winter Games since Garmisch-Partenkirchen in 1936.

Annecy, the clear outsider in the race, is bidding to take the
Winter Games to France for a fourth time after Chamonix 1924, Grenoble
1968 and Albertville 1992.

Wednesday's vote came after all three cities made final
presentations to the IOC members, backed by presidents, prime ministers
and sporting greats.

In a presentation featuring South Korean President Lee Myung-bak
and Olympic figure skating champion Kim Yu-na, Pyeongchang asked the IOC
to reward the country's persistence after 10 years of bidding.

"We never gave up, and tried again and listened to your advice
and improved our plans," said Kim Jin-Sun, the former governor of
Gangwon Province, where Pyeongchang is located.

"I believe it is my destiny to stand in front of you for the
third time," he said, his voice choking and eyes welling with tears.
"Our people have waited for over 10 years for the Winter Olympics. Today
I humbly ask for your support for the chance of hosting the Winter
Games for the first time in our country."

Munich sought to counter Pyeongchang's emotional pull.

Thomas Bach, an IOC vice president and a senior leader of
Munich's bid, noted that Germany was making its fourth Winter or Summer
Olympics bid in recent years and that it has been more than 70 years
since the country hosted the Winter Games in Garmisch-Partenkirchen.

"Today's decision is not about how many times someone has bid or
how long we have been waiting, this decision today is about the merits
and only the merits," he said. "The question is whether now to explore
new territories again or time to strengthen our foundations."

The issue of security was not raised in the presentation or in
the question-and-answer session with Munich, where 11 Israeli athletes
and coaches were killed in an attack by Palestinian gunmen at the 1972
Olympics.

Annecy took a simpler, more human approach in its campaign for an
"authentic" ecologically friendly games in the heart of the French
Alps.

"The host city must have a soul," French Prime Minister Francois
Fillon said, a subtle dig at Annecy's bigger-budget and glitzier rivals.

Each city had 45 minutes to present its case, followed by 15 minutes for questions and answers.